Panel Sessions 2015

– Zoran Martinovski, Summit Chair, World Bank’s IFC Country Manager for Macedonia and
Montenegro, Macedonia2025 Board Member
– Mike Zafirovski, Founder/President of the Zaf Group and Co-founder/Chair of Strategy Committee of
Macedonia2025

Summary of the opening address:

– The legacy of John Bitove Sr., on his love and dedication to the Macedonian cause and what can we all learn from his selflessness
– On the spirit of selflessness. The energy that Board Members put into MK2025 for the good of the Country and not expecting anything in return
– Emphasis on terminology of “think and do” tank (not just “think” alone), talking about education programs and other successes of MK2025
– Overview of the Country Dashboard and how this will help define what we is meant by the credo “Building a stronger nation”
– Ambition for success as measured by the dashboard – being in top half in the next 10 years

– Zoran Martinovski, Summit Chair, World Bank’s IFC Country Manager for Macedonia and
Montenegro, Macedonia2025 Board Member
– Nika Gilauri, Former Prime Minister of Georgia, head of Bank of Georgia Turkey’s office and a
senior advisor for McKinsey & Company
– Mike Zafirovski, Founder/President of the Zaf Group and Co-founder/Chair of Strategy Committee of
Macedonia2025
– Gazmend Kadriu, CEO at Union Bank, Albania
– Branko Bogunovič, Partner at Horwath Consulting, Croatia
– Branka Pavlovič, President of the Board of Directors, Ohridska Banka AD Skopje, Member of
Société Générale Group, Macedonia

Panel Summary:

– Reflection on economic growth and challenges in South-East Europe: Demographic shrinkage and umeployment
– Nika Gilauri shares insights from his experience in leading Georgia’s transformation
– List of main drivers and best practices that contributed to substantial change in Georgia
– Insights from the Banking sector; education of workforce, innovation, business sophistication
– Expectations in tourism development in Croatia and lessons for Macedonia and the SEE region
– Behavior of European and domestic banks in the SEE region and forecast for the next year

– Big Data technology makes things a lot easier for lots of sectors.
– Strong companies and state institutions need to invest in research and implementation of Big Data.
– The customer of today wants to pay for a journey, not just a product or service.
– Companies need to get closer to the individual customer.
– Innovation is also about sustainability. Companies have responsibility in front of communities.
– Next step for Macedonian companies is to become sustainable by introducing smart design.
– ICT is no longer an enabler of business – it is a business itself.

– It is very possible to start an online business with $50 US and develop that into a source of good income.
– Put together skills and idea to develop something that doesn’t exist.
– Having a small team allows companies to subcontract services with other companies in order to focus on crucial objectives.
– There are companies that are working on something big, something that we are not going to believe is real.
– The IT sector in Macedonia offers creative, on the spot thinking and problem solving.
– The time difference between North America and Macedonia allows ICT companies to have an effective 24 hour work cycle.

– Competitiveness is very important for Macedonia because most of the demand is located outside the country.
– Organic production is the next competitive sector of Macedonia. Everything is in place for growth to happen.
– Follow the Nation Brand hexagon to develop a strong tourism sector in Macedonia.
– An increasing number of tourist operators today are aware about Macedonia.
– Tourism is a sector that quickly recovers following a crisis.
– Infestment in the film industry in Macedonia is considerable indirect investment in supporting industry: travel, hospitality, food and beverage, construction, fashion and so on.

– Leadership is about bringing the best out of people and making things better for everyone.
– Leaders show the way, teach from experience.
– Leaders start leading ASAP! Those who lead start leading long before they have followers.
– We need more values-based leaders in the world.
– Macedonia has great leaders in the Diaspora that need to come more often and transfer their knowledge to an increasingly eager audience.

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